Track-cleaner for street-railways



(No Model.)

w. H. WELTON. TRACK CLEANER FOR STREET RAILWAYS. v

No. 545,993. Patented Sept. 10,1895.

tries.

WILIJIAM H. WELTON, OF AKRON, OHIO.

TRACK-CLEAN ER FOR STREET-RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 545,993, dated September 10, 1895.

Application filed February 16, 1895- serial N- 1 (N0 model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. WELTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in the county of Summit and Stateof Ohio, have invented a certain new and usefullmprovement in Track-Cleaners for Street- Railways, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention has relation to improvements in that class of track-cleaners for street-railways wherein scrapers 0r shovel-blades encounter the snow in advance of the front wheels of the advancing car and deflect it outward from the track.

The object of my invention is to produce a new and improved device, readily attached to the car, that shall deflect the snow outwardly from in front of the front wheels; that may be readily and quickly thrown into position for operation and as readily folded when not needed; that will be flexible to yield to undue resistance and to depression from extreme weight in the car, and which shall automatically fold when the motion of the car is reversed.

To the aforesaid object my invention consists in the peculiar and novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter described, and then specifically pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference-nu merals indicate like parts in the different views, Figure l is a side elevation of my track-cleaner in its normal position; Fig. 2, a like view showing the man ner of yielding to undue resistance; Fig. 3, a plan of my machine; Fig. 4, a detail of the scraper-blade; Fig. 5, a side elevation showing the cleaner folded up.

In the drawings, 1 is a rectangular horizontal block, of wood or metal, fastened immovably by a bracket 2 to the car-truck. This block 1 and bracket 2 are united by a cap-bolt 3,and between them is a spring 4, to be described. On each side of this block I are side bars 5 and 6. The bars are pivoted on bolts 7. The inner ends of the bars are attached together by a plate 8, made in the shape of a bracket in printing, the ends whereof are attached to the ends of the bars 5 and 6 by cap-bolts 9; but these bolts do not enter the block 1, leaving the bars 5 and 6 free to rock on bolts 7 in unison. This is used to regulate the distance of the scraperblade from the track. In the center of this plate 8 is a set-screw 10 to adjust the position of the bars 5 and 6. The outer ends of bars 5 and 6 are turned slightly to one side, and bar5 is longer than bar 6, so that the scraperblade 11, which is hung between these ends, is at a slight obtuse angle with the block 1. This scraper-blade 11 is made in the general form of an "1 reversed, with dependent member slightly curved, and terminates in a steel shoe 12, bolted to the blade. The middle portion extends to one side, forming a wing 13, which throws any matter scraped up by the shoe 12 far to one side off the track. The upper part of the blade has two studs 14, one on each side, which enter perforationsin the bars 5 and 6 and serve as the pivot on which the blade hinges. The outer ends of studs 14 are threaded to receive nuts to retain them in place. On the back face of this scraper-blade 11 is an angle-plate 15, bolted fast thereto and perforated on its side face, into which a lever 16 is fastened, and this lever 16 is attached by a bolt to a rocking arm 17, hinged to block 1, from which rocking arm extends a second lever 18, connected to an operating-lever 19 on the car-platform. As before referred to, a spring 4 is fastened between bracket 2 and block 1 by bolt 3. This spring 4 bends back on itself and down directly over the upper end of the scraper-blade, and by its pressure holds it normally vertical, with its lower edge on the track, performing the same function as a knife-blade spring. In order to give this spring more bearing-surface, I bolt an angleiron 20 to top and back face of the scraper, forming a wider surface for the spring to work on. In practice I usually bolt or rivet a thin sheet-iron mud-guard 21 to the free end of the spring to keep the working parts clean.

The operation is as follows: The machine is fastened to the car-truck in front of the wheels (a part of a wheel being shown in Fig.1) and the height of the scraper adjusted by the set-screw 10, which can be changed as the shoe 12 wears off, and these shoes themselves may bereplaced at will. The scraper runs smoothly along the track until some obstacle, as a railroad frog or switch, is encountered, when it is rocked backward automatically by the pressure, and the spring permits this slight movement, but immediately after passing over the obstruction the strength of the spring throws it to its normal position. At the end of the trip or in good weather the entire scraper is swung forward and upward out of the way.

WVhat I claim is 1. A scraper for railroad rails, consisting of a pair of bars pivoted on a block, attached to the car truck, and arranged in unison to rock with the irregularities of the track, said bars carrying between them a pivoted scraper blade, adapted to be normally swung down and rest on the said rail, and to be swung upward when not in use, substantially as shown and described.

2. A track cleaner for railroads, consisting of a pivoted blade hung between a pair of bars pivoted on a block attached to the car truck, said scraper blade arranged to be swung downward and upward by a lever attached to said blade, substantially as shown and described.

3. A cleaner for railroad rails, consisting of a block bearing a spring, a pair of bars pivoted to said block and arranged to swing in unison, and having hung between their ends a pivoted scraper blade, and a lever attached to said blade, and adapted to swing said blade downward and upward, said spring arranged to bear against the upper part of said scraper blade and hold it normally in place, substantially as shown and described.

4. In atrack scraper having a pair of bars pivoted on a block attached to the car truck, a scraper blade hung between the ends of said bars, a spring attached to said block arranged to normally hold said blade in a fixed position, the combination of a lever attached to said blade and arranged to rock said blade downward and upward as desired, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination in a track cleaner of a pair of bars pivoted to a block, attached to the car truck, the ends of said bars being connected by a strap, bearing an adjusting set screw, arranged to bear against said block and regulate the vertical motion of said bars, a pivoted scraper blade hung between the other ends of said bars, a spring fastened to said block arranged to normally press upon the upper part of said blade and retain it in a determined position, an angle plate attached to the upper and back faces of said blades, adapted to receive the thrust of said spring, a lever attached to said blade and arranged to rock said blade upward and downward as desired, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the above I hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM H. WELTON.

In presence of- O. E. HUMPI-IREY, O. P. HUMPHREY. 

